46 | JANURY 16 • 2019
N
athan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. and
Richard Albert Loeb were bright yet
troubled young Jewish men from
prominent Chicago families. On a spring
afternoon in 1924, they lured 14-year-old
Bobby Franks into their rented car and beat
him to death with a chisel.
The seemingly motiveless crime captured
headlines around the world, as did the trial,
where renowned lawyer Clarence Darrow
defended the alleged killers. Both men, who
came to be known as the “thrill killers,
” were
convicted and sentenced to life in prison as
a result of Darrow’
s passionate arguments
against the death penalty.
While this gruesome tale may seem
an unlikely subject for a musical, it’
s the
basis of playwright and composer Stephen
Dolginoff’
s Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb
Story, playing at the Wharton Center for
Performing Arts in East Lansing Feb. 12-16.
The show is directed by Bert Goldstein,
director of the Wharton Center Institute
for Arts & Creativity at Michigan State
University. He saw the musical at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and knew
it would be an excellent fit for the Wharton
Center’
s Illuminate series, which offers audi-
ences a fringe theater experience through
smaller productions based on edgy and
thought-provoking material.
“Our goal is to create discussion and
tackle subjects that may not always be com-
fortable,
” Goldstein said. “This story of two
privileged young men with their entire lives
mapped out for them and how they ‘
blew
it’
because of their toxic relationship still
intrigues people. And Dolginoff did a great
job capturing the psychology of their rela-
tionship.
”
First produced in New York in 2003,
the two-actor show has been performed
throughout the world and translated into
12 languages. It has received several award
nominations, including the Outer Critics
Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical
and Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical
and Best Musical Score.
Starring New York-based actors Mark
Ryan Anderson and Wayne Shuker, the story
is told in a series of flashbacks beginning at
Leopold’
s 1958 parole hearing. According
to Goldstein, the production has a film noir
feel, capturing the mood of an early Alfred
Hitchcock movie. The design of the entire
play is in “black and white,
” including the
sets, furniture, costumes and lighting. The
only splotch of color is Loeb’
s blood-red tie.
“That’
s one of the things that makes it
really interesting for me,
” said Goldstein,
who has been a theater professional for 40
years, working as an actor, director, produc-
er and arts educator.
A piano player, seated on the stage, pro-
vides the musical accompaniment. In the
opening number, “Why,
” Leopold tells his
parole officer how he came to throw his life
away despite his many advantages.
“The music is intriguing; it’
s fraught with
tension, at times beautiful and haunting and
mysterious,
” Goldstein said.
Thrill Me is performed in the Wharton
Center’
s Pasant Theatre, which seats 585
people. For this production, the stage will be
converted to an arena style, with audience
members seated on three sides. A limited
number of on-stage seats are available for
those who want a more intimate viewing
experience.
“The intimacy is part of the thrill, to be
close to the actors,
” Goldstein said. “If you’
re
going on this thrill ride, being close will
enhance the ride.
”
While the subject matter is grim,
Goldstein says there is some “gallows
humor” to lighten things up. The end of the
musical features an ironically humorous
twist, which Goldstein would not reveal.
“It’
s a great show for fans of true crime or
people who want to see a non-traditional
musical,
” he said.
The crime has been the subject of numer-
ous articles, books and films, including
Hitchcock’
s Rope and Meyer Levin’
s book
Compulsion, which was also adapted into a
film. Goldstein added an interesting piece
of lore, explaining that the murder did not
provoke the expected anti-Semitic response
because Bobby Franks was Jewish.
“There was not a rise in anti-Semitism as
there would have been if two Jews had killed
a Christian,
” he said.
Arts&Life
theater
A Disturbing ‘Thrill’
Fans of fringe theater will enjoy Thrill Me: The
Leopold & Loeb Story.
RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
details
Thrill Me is playing
from Wed., Feb. 12
through Sun., Feb.
16 at the Pasant
Theatre in the
Wharton Center for
Performing Arts,
750 E. Shaw LN,
East Lansing.
Ticket prices
begin at $35, with
group and student
discounts available.
Actors Mark Ryan Anderson and
Wayne Shuker star in Thrill Me: The
Leopold & Loeb Story.
COURTESY OF WHARTON CENTER